Follow us on facebook

Stock futures were arrayed for a soft start Thursday as big names including Facebook (FB) and Tesla (TSLA) posted early losses, and investors awaited a full calendar of news items — topped by Apple’s (AAPL) quarterly results after the close.

A big economic news day opens with the announcement that President Trump appointed Fed Governor Jerome Powell as the central bank’s next chairman, taking over when Janet Yellen’s term ends in February. The Powell appointment is generally seen as a bid for continuity in the Fed’s policy of gradually raising interest rates.

House Republicans plan to release details of their tax reform plan, with a meeting scheduled with the President at the White House this afternoon.

Early economic news showed layoffs announced by U.S. employers in October dipped to 29,831, marking their lowest year-to-date level since 1997, according to consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The report said U.S. employers were “holding on to their workforces,” but warned “another downturn could be on the horizon for early to mid-2018 and with it, the large-scale layoff announcements.”

Dow Leads Dow; Tesla, Facebook Slide, Alibaba Climbs

DowDuPont (DWDP) led the Dow industrials, up 0.9% as both earnings and revenue cleared analysts’ hurdles for the third quarter. The stock continues taking new highs, ending Wednesday 9% above a 67.40 cup-with-handle buy point.

Tesla (TSLA) dived 6% after a reporting a sharp drop in third-quarter earnings. Revenue topped analyst forecasts, but the company said production bottlenecks continued to hinder the ramp up of its new Model 3 sedan. Tesla shares are pulled back 18% from a September high, in a test of support at their 40-week moving average.